hello!! for the ask game -- any more details about that post where wei wuxian finds out that wen ning and jiang cheng are hooking up post-canon 👀
the background for this is that WWX hears about WN/JC a while after WN/JC has been a thing - they've had time to phase out of the hate-sex phase, the phase where they're surprised that they have a cordial acquaintance interspersed with moment of kinship outside of sex, and are in the phase where they're willing to see where this takes them. it's been a few years since the end of canon, so WWX and JC have crossed paths since then.
WWX goes through some truly embarrassing denial. Because clearly what WN and JC gave been having isn't sex, it's not like, y'know, sex-sex. They must have been cutely holding hands and cuddling.
or, well, actually WWX isn't even thinking about that part too much either because the idea of JC cuddling makes his heart twinge and his throat go tight and actually what matters here is that what WN and JC are doing is fake sex and can't be real or correct or good!! They're probably too embarrassed to even hold hands, WN's too nice to push and JC is awful!!!
for the record LWJ hates this and is glaring at WN whenever they meet because WN is the one who stumblingly and delicately mentioned that he and SLJ are seeing one another, thank you WN.
2. for a while WWX manages to keep his obnoxiousness under enough wraps that WN can ignore it.
then one day WWX makes the mistake of switching targets for his random bout of fretting, and instead of bothering his husband he talks at WN about his ConcernTM regarding JC having sex WN having sex WWX not being there JC not being good at cuddling while WN needs someone who'll be nice to him.
WN awkwardly conveys the information that oh, hm, actually, that is not an issue, JC is a very good cuddler.
and then some demon must have taken over WN's mouth for a moment, probably invited by WWX's moue of disbelief because WN adds, very neatly cutting through WWX's exclamation that ah, that's just like WN to be so nice, but he's just saying that because he doesn't know better, because in fact--, "i just get him tired enough."
3. denial comes crashing down violently around WWX's ears and so does his peace of mind.
(there's a lot WWX hasn't made his peace with. JC never let him cuddle when they swapped handjobs as teens.)
suddenly WWX starts treating WN like a rival. it's unexpectedly thrilling for WN, and the fact that WWX's moods make it clear that in WWX's mind, WN is winning, makes it even sweeter. WN isn't used to winning. (WN wouldn't have thought of JC as a prize, it's complicated, the thing with JC. and yet. WWX thinks of JC as a prize. Even if he's not admitting it to himself.)
(LWJ is hating this even more but if he'd made a habit of trying to enforce his boundaries with WWX he wouldn't be WWX's regular, would he. he does try to distract WWX! with his dick! it has admirable success for the duration of coitus and then WWX starts getting the same look again. Distracting WWX with a mystery and a night-hunt just ends with WWX musing about looking up specific legends in YunmengJiang, at which point LWJ recognizes that they're going to have to go to Lotus Pier and hope for the best.)
4. They go to Lotus Pier, where: JC has so far been blissfully ignorant of this entire farce.
There's some new tension between he and WN because JC misinterpreted some mentions of WWX WN made, and WWX is an extremely fraught topic between them, one that they've avoided since they rolled out of their hate-sex phase. Originally JC doesn't link WWX's visit to WN's presence, he's too busy being taken aback (and distrustful) (and happy) at WWX being there, WWX trying to recall their history, WWX acting almost as close as they did once.
WN - who was already here! funny how these things work out! - is wincing throughout out these proceedings. WN himself isn't invited to stay in Lotus Pier proper, it's one of these things. YMJ doesn't have dogs for SLJ to unleash on WN, but he wouldn't want to take the risk, it seemed like a boundary worth respecting. There's something particularly awful about seeing WWX ingratiate himself - the word that comes to WN's mind is woo, really - with JC with JC unaware of the reason why it's happening.
Telling JC the truth keeps being the role WN stumbles into, time and again. At least this time he isn't trying to hurt JC on purpose. Even though talking about WWX is another of those boundaries of JC, another of those things that WN knows hurts JC, but--
at least this time he didn't wait years before telling JC either.
5. JC reacts by immediately being furious at everyone involved, but mostly at WWX, and there's a HUGE DRAMATIC SHOUTING MATCH.
JC acts like WWX returning like that, because of this, is some horrible betrayal.
WWX is outraged that WN told JC. (WWX's actual problem is that he's atrociously jealous of someone, anyone, getting somewhere with JC that he never got, by which I mean not just sex but also cuddling and a stable relationship that you can tell the people close to you about, and desperately needs to be higher in JC's priorities. he knows better, he really does, but WN's revelations turned his world upside down and.)
JC is also outraged that WN told WWX about-- *angrily cuts himself off* "--about you two fucking," WWX finishes, so incensed he's that close to calling JC by his courtesy name. And how is that any of WWX's concern exactly, to which WWX retorts something along the lines of "making sure they're not hurting one another," or something equally untrue. There's accusations of WWX playing games (JC - about WWX's return; then WN - about WWX trying to seduce JC, which gets JC snapping at WN and LWJ grimly nodding), there's an attempt from LWJ (who is throwing poisonous looks at both JC and WN) to convince boo that they're not worth it, let's just go, and WWX spits out in a fit of atrocious jealousy that it's his business because they're his, WN is his, and WWX had JC first, so why does JC let WN cuddle him--
at which point JC throws everyone out for the night. WWX and LWJ have to find a room at an inn, and WWX feels the disgrace acutely from having a guest room. (LWJ is indispensable in dragging WWX away, for the record. LWJ doesn't drag WWX all the way back to Cloud Recesses, because WWX "needs" to have JC, as he stresses to LWJ. But he thought about it before WWX started tugging on his heartstrings.)
WWX slinks back out of the inn and beelines straight for LP. he needs to talk to JC, to fix things - JC always thinks the worst of things, it all went topsy turvy. There were too many people! This conversation he should have had without WN. (there's another conversation he needs to have with WN, but WWX's been putting that off forever and isn't going to stop now.) Even LWJ, bless him, of course JC would take everything the wrong way, given how he is with LWJ around.
WN intercepts him just as he's about to enter LP. And isn't budging on not letting him in. ("He said no, Wei-gongzi.") there's something very ironic about WN acting like JC's watchdog without being asked but WWX isn't unpacking all that - it feels like if he did he would entirely unravel.
A couple of WWX's arguments erode WN's resolve - "he threw you out too; you know you need to convince him to take you back or he'll keep a grudge and he won't take you back before forever" and "WN, we both care about JC," and "we need to dissipate this misunderstanding" - and if he'd had just a little more time he's sure he could have gotten through to him but JC finds them before that can happen. (people who trust in WWX's ability to take no for an answer: 0) Eyes slit, looking unhappy, all "what are you doing here."
Grudgingly, JC takes them in.
(He, too, thinks it's something unfinished. And his weak point was always fear of abandonment. What if he pushes away too much. They returned tonight. It would be foolish to push them away again; what if they change their minds?)
they're more tired than earlier, and quieter, so despite JC taking them to his office and not his bedroom after the confessions of caring and hurt they'll manoeuver themselves into a successful threesome before the night is out. (despite WWX tempting fate or at least JC's temper by asking whether it's truly so bad that WWX didn't say why he was back now? and no, for JC of course it's not, it's about WWX never telling the truth.)
After all, they came back.
